WEEK OF 11/19/12 MEETINGS IN REVIEW

TOM'S TALES FOR THE WEEK

Submitted to Shelton Blog by Tom Davis    Mason County Progressive

The Mason County Budget process for 2013 reminds me of my first job:
 
After leaving the Navy I worked the early morning shift at a diner called “Fort Hamilton,” in Brooklyn. I was a short-order cook, slinging hash, home fries and pancakes, mostly to people on their way to work. One morning I came in and found a live mouse at the bottom of a large bowl we used to mix 10 pound sacks of pancake batter; it had fallen in and couldn’t climb out. And even though a mouse in a mixing bowl is kind of disgusting, I couldn’t help feeling sorry for the little guy; every time he tried to scale the sides he slid back down. I called my boss over - a man who thought cigar ash was a critical ingredient in any recipe. He looked inside the bowl, frowned, picked up a mixing paddle and beat the mouse to death with it. After a quick wipe with a dirty cloth he dumped in a ten pound sack of pancake mix, handed me the paddle he had just used to kill the mouse and said, “Don’t worry about it, kid, they’ll eat anything as long as it looks good on the plate.” 

Which brings me back to the Mason County Budget:
 
We can continue to talk about selective salary increases, unnecessary lawsuits, questionable capital improvement projects and even more questionable funding allocations, but, really, what’s the point when there’s a dead mouse in the mix? The problem is not with the budget; it’s with people who cover up their bad behavior with political garnish and then serve it up to the public.

Soon they’ll be two new commissioners on the board; two new cooks in the kitchen, to further torture the analogy. It will be interesting to see if they put the customer before the kitchen and give citizens something more palatable to chew on than a dead mouse.   

Bon Appetit!

Tuesday, November 20, 20/12

9:00 AM:  Board of Mason County Commissioners Meeting

Item 8.1 Approval to set a public hearing on December 11, 2012 at 9:30 a.m. to consider amendments to the Comprehensive Plan’s Future Land Use Map and a request for rezone for portions of property located along Lake Nahwatzel and Kennedy Creek as submitted by Green Diamond Resource Company.

Item 8.2 Approval to set a public hearing on December 11, 2012 at 9:30 a.m. to consider amendments to the Comprehensive Plan’s Future Land Use Map and a request for rezone for portions of property located along Hanks Lake and Kennedy Creek as submitted by Green Diamond Resource Company.

This is where the rubber meets the road, folks, but first let’s turn back the clock to the BOCC Meeting of November 22, 2011:

Item 8.10 Approval to set a public hearing on December 13, 2011 at 9:30 a.m. to consider amendments to the Mason County Comprehensive Plan policies with respect to Long Term Commercial Forest and In-Holding Lands.

Sounds pretty innocuous, right? Just a couple of amendments to help out our neighbors over at Green Diamond. Far from it; this was the most important amendment ever passed in Mason County history and it slipped right past the public like a snake in a sewer pipe. And who’s to blame (I mean besides you and me?) Well, the usual suspects: The commissioners, the Dept. of Community Development and a Planning Advisory Board dominated by a handful of ‘Rubber Stampers’.

From the minutes:    

Tom Davis asked if the public hearing in item 8.10 is relevant to the Green Diamond rezone.

Ms. Atkins (Director. Community Development) replied that it was not related.

But it turned out that Item 8.10 was not only “related” to a Green Diamond rezone request, it is the legal basis for all rezones of Long Term Commercial Forest land. Just ask the folks out at Lake Nahwatzel; they’re looking at 49 new home sites on 248 acres of what was LTCF land owned by Green Diamond.   

What the minutes do not reflect is that Commissioner Tim Sheldon also responded to my question, saying that the public hearing had only to do with In-Holding Lands, which was a lie.  

Now push the clock forward to Dec. 13, 2011:

Item 9.2 Public hearing to consider amendments to the Mason County Comprehensive Plan policies with respect to Long Term Commercial Forest and In-Holding Lands.

The board approved the amendments, thereby opening up a path for Green Diamond Resource Company to swap Long Term Commercial Forest (LTCF) land for an equal amount of land zoned for residential usage and vice versa. So, what does all this mean? It means that, our county commissioners have escalated Green Diamond from ‘neighbor’ status to that of ‘landlord,’ and they now have unprecedented control over where future development and infrastructure projects occur. Think you have a little piece of rural paradise backed up against Green Diamond land? Think again, they can now turn your backyard into a residential development faster than you can build a fence. (Note: Rezones still have to go through the county planning process and require commissioner approval, but if history is any lesson, that’s just a formality).

What a great way for the owners of forest land to hold title; the Commercial Forest designation comes with a 90% property tax exemption. Hold onto your land for 20 years at a 10% tax basis and then rezone it for residential use and sell it at full market value. But don’t thank us; it’s just another way residents of Mason County like to show Green Diamond their appreciation for not being allowed to purchase stock in their privately held company.  

So now on Dec. 11, 2012, the funeral comes to town for Lake Nahwatzel residents. Items 8.1 & 8.2 will come before the board for approval, along with item 8.5: a request to change 22.82 acres of LTCF owned by a Centralia company, Timber Services, Inc. I’ll be there, if only to pay my respects to another dying rural community. Will the new commissioner vote in favor of the people, or will she take the oath of office with a dead mouse in her pocket. Tat tvam asi- “Thou art that”.  

Well, it’s getting pretty close to Turkey time and I’ve worked up a powerful appetite. And believe it or not, there’s still a couple of folks out there willing to break bread and talk shop with an old anarchist.  "So powder your noise, Ma, and I’ll go hitch up the team; we’re headed into town. And don’t forget to bring the big martini glasses."

Have a safe and Happy Thanksgiving.

Later…